Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Henderson for the question and for the way she champions our home state in the regions of Victoria. This is an historic budget for the regions, one that reflects our government's and my party's paramount belief that this nation's future prosperity is inextricably linked to the health, wealth and opportunity that exists in our regions. The budget builds on the $100 billion investment that we as a government have made since 2013 in infrastructure, digital connectivity, health and education.

As the Treasurer stated last night, no government has invested more in our regions than this Liberal-Nationals coalition. Last night we announced an unprecedented $2 billion Regional Accelerator Program that is open to regional centres across the country that have the ambition and plan to grow, seek to overcome challenges, and seize the new opportunities that this decade will see. It will take a place-based, locally driven, data-focused approach, enlisting the private sector to drive catalytic, transformative economic growth in areas such as manufacturing, education, supply chains, export opportunities and industry development. From Mount Gambier and Devonport to Mildura and Mackay, if these regional centres want to strengthen and grow their local economy and secure a stronger future, this $2 billion program will be available for this purpose. I look forward to prospective councils and regions coming forward with their plans and projects that will create local jobs and build on their own unique local assets.

The centrepiece of the Regional Accelerator Program, which will be open from 1 July, is the $500 million Regionalisation Fund, which will deliver opportunities for individual regions to define and invest in their own ambitions for growth. It is intended that the Regionalisation Fund will provide for larger grants of, say, $10 million or more for transformational projects which will support long-term economic growth and job creation in the regions. (Time expired)